Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I had a surprisingly quiet day in my office, with only a handful of visitors. So I decided to clean out one of the filing cabinets.

This is not, mind you, a cabinet I've ever put anything in. It's been in the corner of my office since I started this job. According to the school secretary it's been there as long as she can remember. And she's been here a LONG time. And the school dates back around 40 years.

So, the last time anyone actually looked in the cabinet remains a mystery. Basically, I was opening a time capsule.

A lot of it was dusty old records of kids who likely have grandkids by now. But in one drawer I found a pile of coloring books to give to kids, about child safety.

They were from 1972. And have likely been in the drawer since then.

So let's look at a few pages, shall we?

This page is the introduction. Isn't it amazing what you could get away with in 1972? These anglicized, stereotyped Native Americans likely wouldn't make it past a political correctness committee today.

Now this page is great. Yes, kids, that is a PHONE. When Dr. Grumpy and I were young you had to DIAL phone numbers (I know, I'm dating us here). NOT press buttons. NOT hit speed-dial. NOT say "call Buffy" to the phone. There was that BIG round thing on the front, and you had to dial in the digits ALL BY YOURSELF. So next time you hear someone say "dial a number" or "dial tone", you know where the expression came from. And yes, clowns really were that creepy back then. And, for the most part, still are.

This next page, however, is my favorite. In 1972 it was apparently considered normal, and safe, to leave GUNS AND AMMO lying unattended around the house, provided your kids had been told not to touch them. After all, if you tell kids not to do something, they ALWAYS listen and know better then to actually do it. Right?

I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane. If you have young kids, and you're not at home right now, please dial them up to remind them not to play with the guns or let clowns in the house (if clowns are already in the house, then it's better that your kids have access to guns).

Is that the Tootsie Roll owl helping Lassie tell the kids not to touch the guns?

It may date me too, but I also remember those phones. I hated getting to the last number (always an 9 or 0) and have to hang up and try again because my finger got stuck on the way around and mis-dialed. Remember when you dialed by a word then a three or four digit number? Before that was pick up the phone and ask the operator to connect you with Mama. If there was nobody else on the line.

Yep!! Just like on Hee Haw and Andy Griffith! Thanks for the stroll down Memory Lane!

Mom and Dad ran away and left little Debbie and Joey alone in the house to face the Zombie Apocalypse. Oh, dear. But don't worry, kids! Joey's made friends with Mr. Gun Cabinet! He sees there are plenty of shells for the big ol' .44 Magnum, but no ammo for the rifles. Oh, Daddy must have taken it all. Naughty Daddy! Debbie can't shoot any zombies anyway, 'cause her hand is being mauled by a psychopathic owl. Bad owl! Don't touch! And the dog won't be much help either; he only has one leg. Oh-oh, zombies at the window. That's not very safe, is it, kids?

Clowns scare me more than anything in the world. Creepy, creepy clowns O_o

I think I got something similar to this in grade school...I remember getting something that we had to write our phone #s on. Back then, we lived in the country and had a party line...my daughter doesn't grasp the concept. She doesn't realize how lucky she is to have her own cell phone at 13 - I didn't even have a phone in my room until I was 16!

At the risk of spreading pessimism, I used to live with a couple and their child in 2004. The man of the house refused to invest in child locks for his cabinets, because they would negatively affect the resale value of his house. So he had a cabinet with black powder, as well as more modern ammunition, within reach of his 2 yo daughter.

My late uncle, who died just two years ago, still had a rotary dial phone that he leased for about $50 per month. He was an intelligent man, with no mental impairment, but he was very set in his ways. The last time he tried to use a computer was back in the late 50s early 60s, when he was a senior USMC financial analyst as well as pilot.

I have a black, rotary dial phone on my desk. I love that phone. I grew up with that phone. It says Property of New York Telephone on the bottom. So cool. It works, too...rings in anyway. I have cable phone for my landline so I can't talk on it or make outgoing calls, but it will ring. Love the sound of that ringer.

of course this was published in jackson, michigan (see first photo). though i only know jackson today, i can't imagine it was any more progressive (in fact, jackson is decidedly anti-progressive) in 1972.

Wow, just freaking wow. do you know that shooting sportsman and hunters are the some of the biggest contributors to conservation in the outdoors? Even more than the supposed conservation groups out there? Even promote gun safety everywhere they can? yes, accidents happen- it is very very sad, my heart goes out to each family, but tossing out assumptions and absolutes only make you look ignorant on the subject. Gun crimes went up by about 40% in the UK alone even after 2 years with the enforced gun ban. My father used to say to me (quoting someone else) "if guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns."And as for your assumption that gun owners are also racist towards native Americans, shame on you. its sad that racism and discrimination still exists but to lump a group of people and label them like that is wrong.In closing, if you give the government to limit some freedoms, you will soon find that they will limit other freedoms...

Not only do I remember rotary dial phones I remember party lines. Unlike today when that means "call up and talk to sexy people for $4.99 a minute", it meant "I can't call Gramma, Mrs. Jenkins next door is talking to someone." Once Mrs Jenkins was done you could call directly by just poking a few digits. I seem to recall when our phone number when from 6 digits to 7.

Heh, I didn't get my own phone until I went to college. Then I just got a cell phone. And I remember using a rotary phone a few times, using a push button phone many times. And I'm only in my 20's.

As for guns. If you raise your kids to be responsible, then you don't have to worry about it. That's what my Dad did. And I never even wanted to touch them when they were out.

Basically, if you have guns, and your kids are big enough to hold them. Then you need to teach them the proper ways of handling guns. If every kid was taught to handle guns with respect by age 6 or 7, there'd be far fewer accidents. And probably less crime.

Instead, people think only allowing criminals to have guns is a good idea... Yeah, that's smart...

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